Apparatus for providing controlled impedance in an electrical contact

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for providing a controlled impedance directly to predetermined contact elements within a socket, thereby reducing the “distorting” nature of the electrical interconnection system. In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, predetermined contacts of a socket may have a resistance, inductance, capacitance, or a combination thereof incorporated therein. In another illustrative embodiment, at least one active element(s) may also be incorporated into predefined contacts. In this manner, predefined contacts may “process” the corresponding signal in a predetermined manner, defined by the circuitry incorporated on the contact itself. Illustrative functions that may be performed include, but are not limited to, amplifying, analog-to-digital converting, digital-to-analog converting, predefined logic functions, or any other function that may be performed via a combination of active and/or passive elements including a microprocessor function.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related to electrical interconnect systems andmore particularly relates to high performance electrical interconnectsystems which provide signal conditioning therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A plethora of applications exist for effecting electrical contactbetween two conductors. Examples of such applications include cableconnectors, PC board connectors, socket connectors, DIP carriers, etc.In an illustrative application, an interconnect system may effect aninterconnection between a number of terminals on a first printed circuitboard with a number of corresponding terminals on a second printedcircuit board. Such apparatus are used to provide an electricalinterface between two circuit boards. In another illustrativeapplication, an interconnect system may effect an interconnectionbetween a lead of an integrated circuit device and a conductive pad orterminal on a printed circuit board. The circuit board may then becoupled to a tester apparatus or other control means. Such apparatus areused to evaluate the performance of integrated circuit devices.

Numerous considerations bear upon the structure of an electricalinterconnect system, including both electrical and mechanicalconsiderations. For typical interconnection systems, special attentionmust be given to the electrical performance thereof including selfinductance, resistance, capacitance, impedance matching characteristics,etc. Mechanical considerations including life span requirements,repairability or replacability, operating temperature requirements,etc., must also be considered. Finally, specific applications of anelectrical interconnect system may yield a number of unique parameterswhich must also be considered. For example, in an interconnect systemwhich provides an electrical interconnection between an integratedcircuit lead and a printed circuit board terminal, various parametermust be considered including the coplanarity of the terminals, themechanical manufacturing tolerances, and the device alignment andorientation of the device terminals relative to the interconnectionsystem.

A main objective of an interconnection system is to maintain anon-distorting electrical interconnection between two terminals. Toaccomplish this, an interconnection system must be carefully designed tocontrol the lead inductance and resistance, the lead-to-leadcapacitance, the lead-to-ground capacitance, the electrical decouplingsystem, and the impedance matching characteristic of signal paths. Allof these characteristics contribute, to some degree, to the distortingnature of the electrical interconnection system.

Various methods have been developed to help minimize the parasiticeffects of the interrconnect system. A common method is to providesignal condition circuits adjacent the electro-mechanical contacts ofthe electrical interconnection system. The signal conditioning circuits,typically discrete elements such as termination components are used toadjust and control the circuit impedance. Because the requisite signalconditioning components and electro-mechanical contacts are physicallyseparated, it is difficult to attain an ideal interconnect system,thereby compromising the accuracy, precision and reproducibility of theinterconnect system.

One prior art structure is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,762, issuedon Apr. 29, 1975 to Lockhart, Jr. Lockhart suggests a test socket forinterconnecting a dual-in-line integrated circuit package and a printedcircuit board. A capacitor is provided in the body of the socket whereinthe socket material provides the dielectric for the capacitor. Thecontacts of the capacitor are in contact with the socket connectors,which are in turn in contact with the integrated circuit package. Thatis, Lockhart suggests a test socket wherein the capacitor is provided inthe socket body, rather than on the “load board” as previouslydiscussed.

A scheme to connect a first circuit board containing a test socket to acoaxial probe card, and eventually to an IC tester is suggested in U.S.Pat. No. 4,996,487, issued on Feb. 26, 1991 to Pope. The first circuitboard has an integrated circuit test socket connected thereto and tracesfrom the integrated circuit test socket to plated through-holes andfurther to blind vias. The coaxial probe card then engages the blindvias to provide an electrical communication path between the IC testerand the integrated circuit test socket.

A method for reducing noise in a telephone jack is suggested in U.S.Pat. No. 4,695,115, issued on Sep. 22, 1987 to Talend. Talend suggests amodular jack for telephones in which discrete bypass capacitors areconnected to the leads of the jack to filter out noise thereon. Talendcontemplates using monolithic surface mount capacitors which extend to aground plane in the modular jack element.

The use of a pi-network to reduce noise in a connector is suggested inU.S. Pat. No. 4,853,659, issued on Aug. 1, 1989 to Kling. Kling suggestsusing a planer pi-network filter comprising a pair of shunt capacitorsand an inductive member in series therebetween. Kling contemplates usingthe pi-network filter in combination with cable connectors or the like.

A millimeter-wave probe for use in injecting signals with frequenciesabove 50 GHz is suggests in U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,910, issued on Jan. 8,1991 to Majidi-Ahy et al. In Majidi-Ahy et al. an input impedancematching section couples the energy from a low pass filter to a pair ofmatched, anti-parallel, beam lead diodes. These diodes generate oddnumbered harmonics which are passed through the diodes by an outputimpedance matching network.

Finally, a capacitively loaded probe which can be used for non-contactacquisition of both analog and digital signals is suggested in U.S. Pat.No. 5,274,336, issued on Dec. 28, 1993 to Crook et al. In Crook et al.,the probe consists of a shielded probe tip, a probe body which ismechanically coupled to the probe tip, and an amplifier circuit disposedwithin the probe body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the priorart by providing a means for electrically affecting a signal directlywithin the contact elements of the interconnection system. It iscontemplated that the present invention may be applied to any type ofelectrical interconnect system including, but are not limited to, cableconnectors, PC board connectors, test socket connectors, DIP carriers,etc.

In an illustrative embodiment, the electrical interconnect system maycomprise a number of contacts wherein a first portion of each contactmay be brought into electrical communication with a corresponding firstterminal. A second portion of each contact may be in electricalcommunication with a corresponding second terminal. To enhance theperformance of the interconnect system, the present invention mayprovide a means for electrically affecting a signal directly withinpredetermined ones of the contacts. This may be accomplished byproviding a controlled impedance therein.

A number of advantages may be achieved by providing a controlledimpedance directly within the contact element. For example, in anintegrated circuit test application, the maximum benefit of thecontrolled impedance may be achieved by having the controlled impedancelocated as close as possible to the integrated circuit lead. That is,the closer that the controlled impedance is placed to the integratedcircuit lead, the greater the benefit the controlled impedance may haveon reducing the distorting nature of the interconnect system. In thepresent embodiment, the controlled impedance may be coupled directly tothe contacts within a corresponding test socket, rather than beingplaced on an adjacent load board or the like.

In one embodiment of the present invention, predetermined contacts ofthe socket may have a resistance, inductance, capacitance, and/orsurface acoustical wave filer therein. Further, predetermined contactsof the socket may have a combination of the above reference elements,thereby forming a circuit. This additional impedance may be used forimpedance matching purposes in order to reduce reflections or othernoise mechanisms on a corresponding signal line. Further, the addedimpedance may be used to provide capacitive or inductive coupling tosignal or power pins. That is, the controlled impedance may electricallyaffect a corresponding signal.

In another embodiment of the present invention, predetermined ones ofthe contacts of the socket may contact a number of independent signaltraces on a load board. That is, each contact may electricallycommunicate with a number of independent signals on the load board,including the particular signal trace which corresponds to theparticular semiconductor device lead.

In another embodiment of the present invention, predetermined contactsof the socket may have at least one active element incorporated thereon.For example, a contact may have a transistor, diode, etc. incorporatedtherein. Further, a contact may have a combination of transistors,diodes, resistors, capacitors, inductors, surface acoustical wavefilters, gates, etc. to form a circuit therein. In this embodiment, theimpedance of the contact may be selectively controlled by anotherindependent signal, as described in the previous paragraph, by the logiclevel of the contact itself, or other control means.

It is recognized that the inclusion of an active element into aparticular contact of a socket may have numerous applications. Forexample, a contact having just a single transistor incorporated thereinmay be used to control whether a semiconductor device, the tester, orother element is driving a corresponding signal trace. That is, thesingle transistor may be turned off, thereby substantially increasingthe impedance thereof, such that the tester or other means may drive acorresponding signal trace without overdriving a corresponding output ofthe semiconductor device. Similarly, the single transistor may be turnedon, thereby reducing the impedance thereof to a low level, allowing thesemiconductor device to drive the signal trace back to the tester orother element. This may be especially useful with semiconductor devicesthat have bi-directional input/output pins. It is recognized that thisis only one application of the present invention and that numerous otherapplications are contemplated.

As stated above, a number of active elements may be incorporated intopredefined contacts of a socket to form a circuit therein. Inductors,capacitors, and resistors may also be incorporated therein and combinedtherewith. In this configuration, predefined contacts may “process” thecorresponding signal in a predetermined manner, defined by the circuitryincorporated on the contact itself. For example, a number of transistorsmay be incorporated in a contact wherein the number of transistor may bearranged to provide an amplifier function. That is, the signal providedby the semiconductor device, the tester apparatus, or other means may beamplified by the contact of the socket. Other illustrative functions mayinclude, but are not limited to, analog-to-digital converters,digital-to-analog converters, predefined logic functions, or any otherfunction that may be performed via a combination of active and/orpassive elements including a microprocessor function.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the impedance may beformed between two components within a connector. For example, twoparallel and adjacent contacts may be separated by an insulatingmaterial thereby forming a capacitance therebetween. One of the contactsmay be coupled to a power supply lead on the semiconductor device whilean adjacent contact may be coupled directly to ground. Thisconfiguration may provide capacitance between the power supply andground, thereby reducing noise on the power supply of the semiconductordevice. This embodiment may also be used to provide isolation betweensignal lines or signal lines and a power supply/ground if desired. Thatis, a contact that is connected to ground may be placed between twosignal contacts to reduce the amount of cross-talk therebetween. Thecontact may be shaped to control the amount of inductance on a givencontact. It should be recognized that this is only an illustrativeembodiment, and that other embodiments which provide impedance betweenat least two components of a connector are contemplated.

In another embodiment, the controlled impedance may be provided on, orincorporated in, predetermined ones of the plurality of contacts. In thesimplest embodiment, a resistance provided by the contact itself may bechanged by varying the material or the shape thereof. In a more complexembodiment, and not deemed to be limiting, a metal substrate (MS) may beutilized to create a controlled impedance on predetermined contacts. Forexample, two or more metal plates may be mechanically joined andelectrically insulated from one another in such a way as to formimpedance controlled (i.e., transmission line, stripline, and/ormicro-strip) electro-mechanical contacts. One metal plate may serve asthe signal plane while an adjacent metal plate may serve as anelectrical ground reference. Electrical insulation can be accomplishedby a number of means including, application of thermal-settingdielectric coatings including polyimides, epoxies, urethanes, etc.,application of thermoplastic coatings including polyethylene, etc., orby growing native oxide by anodization or thermal growth. These variedapproaches may allow for control of impedance through a number ofadjustable parameters including the dielectric constant of theinsulating material and the plate separation. Mechanical joining may beaccomplished by a number of means including, suspension by or betweenone or more elastomeric members and/or by referencing of the individualplates or sets of multiple plates within pre-defined mechanicalconstructs, such as slots within a housing.

In another embodiment, and not deemed to be limiting, a ceramicsubstrate (CS) may be utilized to create a controlled impedance onpredetermined contacts. For example, patterned metal may be fabricatedon a ceramic substrate in such a way as to yield an impedance controlledelectro-mechanical contact. In an illustrative embodiment, aconventional thin-film multi-layer technology may provide a 3-terminaltype capacitor wherein the first two terminals correspond to a signalI/O and the third terminal corresponds to a ground reference. It is alsocontemplated that the same impedance controlled 3-terminal typecapacitor could be fabricated by a modified multi-layer thin-filmprocess wherein the conductive phase is deposited on an inert/carriersubstrate and patterned for selective oxidation using chemicalanodization, plasma oxidation and/or thermal oxide growth, yieldingconductive metal patterns within a dielectric. Finally, it iscontemplated that the process could be repeated N-times to yield amulti-layer active contact structure of the 3-terminal type capacitor.

While the last two embodiments primarily provide an illustrative threeterminal capacitor type device, it is envisioned that other conventionalprocesses may be used to provide resistance, inductance, capacitance,and/or a combination thereof to predetermined contacts. It is furtherenvisioned that conventional or other processes may be used to provideother active elements including, transistors, diodes, etc., and/or acombination thereof to predetermined contacts. Finally, it is envisionedthat conventional or other processes may be used to provide a number ofactive and/or passive elements in a circuit configuration which mayprovide predefined functions, including a microprocessor function topredetermined contacts. In the above referenced embodiments, theelectrical affecting means may be integrated with the contact itself.

Finally, the connector apparatus comprising the above referencedcontacts may be designed such that each of the contacts may beinterchanged with another contact. This may allow a contact having ainductor to be interchanged with another contact having a resistor. Ascan readily be seen, this may allow the connector apparatus to beconfigurable, even after the connector apparatus has been assembled andis in use. That is, the connector apparatus may be customized for aparticular use, and even changed to accommodate a new use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendantadvantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as thesame becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an active contact coupled to apackaged semiconductor device and an interface board;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an illustrative embodiment of theactive contact whereby the active contact provides a capacitance betweena packaged semiconductor device lead and a ground plane;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an illustrative embodiment of theactive contact whereby the active contact provides a diode means to theconnection between a packaged semiconductor device and a terminal on aninterface board;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an illustrative embodiment of theactive contact whereby the active contact provides a switch means to theconnection between a packaged semiconductor device and a terminal on aninterface board;

FIG. 5 is a top view of an illustrative embodiment of the activecontacts whereby the active contacts are separated by a thinnon-conducting layer to provide impedance therebetween;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial fragmented perspective view of an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention including a packaged semiconductordevice and an interface board;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the presentinvention having native Grown Oxide on a Metal Substrate contact to forma controlled impedance therebetween;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a Metal Dielectric Sandwich embodimenthaving a Metal Substrate Contact;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a two terminal embodiment having aCeramic Substrate Contact; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a three terminal embodiment having aCeramic Substrate Contact.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an active contact coupled to apackaged semiconductor device and an interface board 26. An illustrativeembodiment of the present invention may provide a controlled impedancedirectly to predetermined contact elements within a test socket, therebyreducing the “distorting” nature of the electrical interconnectionsystem. It is further contemplated that the present invention may not belimited to test sockets, but rather may be applied to cable connectors,PC board connectors, test socket connectors, DIP carriers, etc.

A semiconductor device socket may comprise a number of contacts whereina first portion of each contact may be brought into electricalcommunication with a corresponding lead of a semiconductor device.Another portion of each contact may be in electrical communication witha load board terminal or equivalent and subsequently with a tester ofother test means. That is, each contact may provide a mechanical and anelectrical connection between a load board terminal and a correspondinglead on a semiconductor device. To enhance the performance of thesocket, the present invention may electrically affect a signal byprovide a controlled impedance within predetermined ones of thecontacts. The electrical affecting means may be integrated with thecorresponding contact.

To obtain the maximum benefit of the controlled impedance which is addedto an interconnect system, it is important to have the controlledimpedance located as close as possible to the semiconductor device lead.That is, the closer that the controlled impedance is placed to thesemiconductor device lead, the greater the benefits the controlledimpedance may have on reducing the distorting nature of the interconnectsystem. In the present embodiment, the controlled impedance may becoupled directly to the contacts within the socket.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an active contact 10 maybe coupled to a lead 14 of a packaged semiconductor 12 via interface 18.Further, active contact 10 may be coupled to at a load board terminal 16via interface 20. Active contact 10 may also be coupled to at least oneother load board terminal 22 via interface 24. Active contact 10 mayprovide both a mechanical and an electrical connection between packagedsemiconductor lead 14 and load board terminals 16 and 22.

In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention,predetermined contacts 10 of the socket may have a resistance,inductance, capacitance, surface acoustical wave filters, or acombination thereof incorporated therein. A combination of resistance,inductance, capacitance, or surface acoustical wave filters may form acircuit therein. This additional impedance may be used for impedancematching purposes in order to reduce reflections or other noisemechanisms on a corresponding signal line. Further, the added impedancemay be used to provide capacitive or inductive coupling to signal orpower pins.

It is contemplated that predetermined ones of the active contacts 10 ofthe test socket may contact a number of signal traces on the load board.That is, each contact 10 may electrically communicate with, and may bemechanically engaged with, a number of signals traces on the load board,including the particular signal trace which corresponds to theparticular semiconductor device lead 14. For example, in the embodimentshown in FIG. 1, active contact 10 may be coupled to a first load boardterminal 16 and a second load board terminal 22. It is contemplated thatactive contact 10 may be coupled to a plurality of load board terminalsin a similar manner.

It is further contemplated that predetermined contacts 10 of the socketmay have at least one active element incorporated thereon or therein.For example, active contact 10 may have a transistor, diode, etc., or acombination thereof incorporated therein, thereby forming a circuit. Itis further contemplated that a combination of resistance, capacitance,inductance, transistors, diodes, surface acoustical wave filters, gates,etc. may be incorporated therein to form a circuit. In this embodiment,the impedance of the contact may be selectively controlled by anotherindependent signal, as described in the previous paragraph, by the logiclevel of the contact itself, or other control means. In this embodiment,the active contact may have three ports 18, 20, and 24 as shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an illustrative embodiment of anactive contact 10A whereby the active contact 10A provides a capacitanceto an interconnection 28 extending between the packaged semiconductordevice lead 14 and load board terminal 16. In the illustrativeembodiment, a capacitor 30 may have a first lead coupled to theinterconnection 28 between the packaged semiconductor device lead 14 andload board terminal 16. The capacitor 30 may have a second lead coupledto load board terminal 22 via interface 24. In this configuration, loadboard terminal 22 may be grounded, thereby providing a capacitancebetween the interconnection 28 and ground. FIG. 2 is only illustrative,and it is contemplated that active contact 10A may comprise an inductor,resistor, diode, surface acoustical wave filter, or any other elementwhich provides impedance and/or control thereto. It is furthercontemplated that active contact 10A may comprise any combination of theabove reference elements thereby forming a circuit.

FIGS. 3-4 show illustrative embodiments having active elements disposedon active contact 10. FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of anillustrative embodiment of the active contact whereby an active contact10C provides a diode means 36 between the packaged semiconductor devicelead 14 and load board terminal 16. This configuration allows thesemiconductor device 12 to supply current to load board terminal 16 butdoes not allow current to flow from load board terminal 16 into thesemiconductor device 12. Similarly, FIG. 4 shows a schematic side viewof an illustrative embodiment of the active contact whereby an activecontact 10D provides a switch means between packaged semiconductordevice lead 14 and lead board terminal 16. In the illustrativeembodiment, the switch means may comprise a transistor 40 having a gate,source, and drain. The drain of the transistor 40 may be coupled to thesemiconductor device lead 14 via interface 18, the source of thetransistor 40 may be coupled to load board terminal 16 via interface 20,and the gate of the transistor 40 may be coupled to load board terminal22 via interface 24. In this configuration, load board terminal 22 maycontrol the impedance between load board terminal 16 and semiconductordevice lead 14. Further, active contact 10D may have three ports 18, 20,and 24.

It is recognized that the inclusion of an active element intopredetermined contacts 10 of a socket may have numerous applications.For example, a contact having a single transistor incorporated therein,as shown in FIG. 4, may be used to control whether the semiconductordevice or the tester is driving a corresponding load board terminal.That is, the single transistor 40 may be turned off by applying anappropriate voltage to load board terminal 22, thereby substantiallyincreasing the impedance of the path from the semiconductor device lead14 to load board terminal 16, such that the tester may drive acorresponding load board terminal 16 without overdriving an output ofthe semiconductor device 12. Similarly, the single transistor 40 may beturned on by applying an appropriate voltage to load board terminal 22,thereby reducing the impedance of the path from the semiconductor devicelead 14 to load board terminal 16, allowing the semiconductor device 12to drive load board terminal 16 back to the tester, or visa-versa. Thismay be especially useful with semiconductor devices that havebi-directional input/output pins. It is recognized that this is only oneapplication of the present invention and that numerous otherapplications are contemplated.

As stated above, it is further contemplated that a number of activeelements may be incorporated into predefined contacts 10 of a socket toform a circuit therein. Inductors, capacitors, resistors, and/or surfaceacoustical wave filters may also be incorporated therein and combinedtherewith. In this embodiment, predefined contacts may “process” thecorresponding signal in a predetermined manner, defined by the circuitryincorporated on active contact 10 itself. For example, a number oftransistors may be incorporated in active contact 10 wherein the numberof transistor may be arranged to provide an amplifier function. That is,the signal provided by the semiconductor device 40 or tester apparatus(not shown) may be amplified by active contact 10 of the socket. Otherillustrative functions may include, but are not limited to,analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, predefinedlogic functions, or any other function that may be performed via acombination of active and/or passive elements, including amicroprocessor function.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an illustrative embodiment of the activecontacts whereby the active contacts are separated by a thin insulatingmaterial to provide impedance therebetween. FIG. 6 is a perspective viewof the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

In an illustrative embodiment, a number of “S” shaped contacts may beprovided wherein each “S” shaped contact may engage a corresponding leadof a semiconductor device 138. A first hook portion 141 of each “S”shaped contact may engage a first elastomer element 142. A second hookportion 143 of each “S” shaped contact may engage a second element 144.The second element 144 may be constructed from a solid material or anelastomeric material. As a lead 137 of a semiconductor device 138engages a corresponding “S” shaped contact 135, elastomer element 142may deform thereby permitting “S” shaped contact 135 to deflect awayfrom the corresponding semiconductor device lead 137. This may helpcompensate for non-planer device leads on a corresponding semiconductordevice 138.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the impedance may be formed between twocomponents within the socket. For example, two parallel and adjacentcontacts 134 and 135 may be separated by an insulating material 136thereby forming a capacitance therebetween. One of the contacts 135 maybe engaged by a power supply pin 137 on a corresponding semiconductordevice 138 while an adjacent contact 134 may be engaged by a ground pin139. This configuration provides capacitance between the power supplyand ground, thereby reducing noise on the power supply of thesemiconductor device 138.

The present embodiment may also be used to provide isolation betweensignal lines or signal lines and a power supply/ground if desired. Thatis, a contact 137 may be connected to ground and may be placed betweentwo signal contacts 134 and 140 to reduce the amount of cross-talktherebetween. The contact may be shaped to control the amount ofinductance on a given contact.

In one embodiment, a first contact 135, an insulating material 136, anda second contact 134 may be sandwiched together to form an impedancetherebetween. This may be accomplished by using a conventionallamination process. In another embodiment, the first contact 135 and/orthe second contact 134 may have an oxide coating placed thereon. Theoxide coating may be grown on the outer surface of the contacts using astandard oxidation processes. In this configuration, the first contact135 may be brought into direct contact with the second contact 134 whilemaintaining electrical isolation therebetween.

It is recognized that the above referenced embodiments are onlyillustrative, and that other embodiments which provide impedance betweenat least two components of a socket are contemplated.

FIG. 7 is a partial fragmented perspective view of an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention including a packaged semiconductordevice and an interface board. As stated above, the controlled impedancemay be provided on, or incorporated in, predetermined ones of theplurality of contacts.

In the simplest embodiment, the resistance provided by the contact maybe changed by varying the material or the shape thereof. In a morecomplex embodiment, and not deemed to be limiting, a metal substrate(MS) may be utilized to create a controlled impedance on predeterminedones of the plurality of contacts. For example, two or more metal planesmay be mechanically joined and electrically insulated from one anotherin such a way as to form impedance controlled (i.e., stripline)electro-mechanical contacts. One metal plane may serve as the signalplane while an adjacent metal plane may serve as an electrical groundreference. Electrical insulation can be accomplished by a number ofmeans, including, application of thermal-setting dielectric coatingsincluding polyimides, epoxies, urethanes, etc., application ofthermoplastic coatings including polyethylene, etc., or by growingnative oxide by anodization or thermal growth. These varied approachesmay allow for control of impedance through the adjustable parameters ofthe dielectric constant of the insulating material and the planeseparation. Mechanical joining may be accomplished by a number of means,including, suspension by or between one or more elastomeric membersand/or by referencing of the individual planes or sets of multipleplanes within pre-defined mechanical constructs such as slots within ahousing.

Essentially any metal may be used for this embodiment of the activecontact. Aluminum is a preferred material since it is readilyanodizable, and yields a good quality and well-characterized dielectricfilm. Other metals that may be used include, but are not limited to,copper and copper alloys, steels and Ni—Fe alloys, NiCr alloys,transition metals and alloys, and intermetallics. Some of thesenon-traditional contact metals may be useful either in a plated ornon-plated embodiment to adjust and control the contact's bulkresistance.

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, a packaged semiconductor device 112having at least one lead 114 may be received in a housing 116, such thatthe at least one lead 114 may be in electro-mechanical contact with anactive contact 130. Semiconductor device 112 may be positioned in placeby a lead channel 118 or other orienting means.

Active contact 130 may comprise a device element 120 and a plate 126.The device element 120 and the plate 126 may be constructed from ametallic material, as discussed above. The at least one lead 114 ofsemiconductor device 112 may be in electro-mechanical contact with afirst portion of device element 120. Similarly, a second portion ofdevice element 120 may be in electro-mechanical contact with a signalI/O pad 128 on a load board 122, thus completing a signal path fromsemiconductor device 112 to load board 122. Signal I/O pad 128 may becoupled to a tester or another element.

Device element 120 may be mechanically bonded to plate 126 via adielectric material 124 such that the two conducting surfaces,comprising device element 120 and plate 126, may be orientated parallelto one another and separated by a distance substantially equal to thethickness of dielectric material 124. Plate 126 may beelectro-mechanically connected to a ground pad 132 on load board 122,such that the construct yields a transmission line structure such as amicro-strip type impedance controlled active contact. It is recognizedthat ground pad 132 may be coupled to a fixed voltage or to a tester.When connected to a tester, the voltage on ground pad 132 may be variedto provide a time varying impedance signature to the correspondingsignal path.

In another embodiment utilizing a metal substrate as discussed above, aprecise thickness of metal oxide may be grown on the surface of deviceelement 130 and/or plate 126. The native grown metal oxide may functionas the dielectric between device element 130 and plate 126. It iscontemplated that the native grown metal oxide may comprise an inorganicoxide dielectric coating.

Another embodiment which utilizes the native grown metal oxideconfiguration is shown in FIG. 8. The active contact is generally shownat 150 and may comprise a first contact element 152 and a second contactelement 154. A metal oxide may be selectively grown on contact elements152 and/or 154 such that no metal oxide is present on contactingsurfaces 158A, 158B, or 158C. It is also contemplated that the metaloxide may be grown over the entire outer surface of contacting elements152 and/or 154, and then selectively removed from contacting surfaces158A, 158B, and 158C. Contacting surface 158A may be inelectro-mechanical contact with a lead of a semiconductor device (notshown). Similarly, contacting point 159B may be in electro-mechanicalcontact with a signal I/O pad on a load board (not shown). Finally,contacting surface 158C may be in electro-mechanical contact with aground pad on the load board (not shown).

In this configuration, first contact element 152 may be placed incontact with second contact element 154, while maintaining electricalisolation therebetween. Various metal plane configurations which allowadjustment and control of the electrical and mechanical interfacecharacteristics are contemplated, including the shape of the contactingelements 152 and 154, the oxide thickness grown thereon, the mutualsurface areas, the plane separation distance, and other parameters.

Finally, it is contemplate that a window 160, or multiple windows, maybe incorporated into the design of the contacting elements 152 and 154.Window 160 may be employed as a conduit for a mechanically elastomericmember which may support the active contact 150. The elastomer member(not shown) may be used to provide an upward biasing of contact surface158A such that as a semiconductor lead is brought into engagementtherewith, the elastomer member may deform thereby permitting activecontact 150 to deflect away from the semiconductor device lead. This mayhelp compensate for non-planer device leads on a correspondingsemiconductor device.

Another illustrative embodiment that may use the metal substrate conceptdiscussed above is shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, a known precisethickness of thermal setting or thermoplastic dielectric 124 may belaminated between two or more metal plates 120 and 126 in order toachieve the desired electro-mechanical characteristics. It iscontemplated that the two or more metal plates may comprise two or moreisolated circuits. That is, each of the two or more metal plates maycomprise a circuit function. It is further contemplated that adielectric 124 may be constructed from polyimide, epoxy, polycarbonate,polyphenylene sulfide, or any other suitable material. An etch-back ofthe dielectric 124 may be incorporated into the fabrication process tofacilitate ohmic contact on contacting surfaces 158D, 158E, and 158F.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a ceramic substrate maybe utilized to create a controlled impedance on predetermined ones of aplurality of contacts. For example, patterned metal may be fabricated ona ceramic substrate in such a way as to yield an impedance controlledelectro-mechanical contact. In an illustrative embodiment, aconventional thin-film multi-layer technology may provide a 3-terminaltype capacitor wherein the first two terminals may correspond to asignal I/O and the third terminal may be in contact with a groundreference. It is also contemplated that the same impedance controlled3-terminal type capacitor could be fabricated by a modified multi-layerthin-film process wherein the conductive phase is deposited on aninert/carrier substrate and patterned for selective oxidation usingchemical anodization, plasma oxidation and/or thermal oxide growth,yielding conductive metal patterns within a dielectric. Finally, it iscontemplated that the process may be repeated N-times to yield amulti-layer active contact structure of the 3-terminal type capacitor.

While the last two embodiments primarily provide an illustrative threeterminal capacitor type device, it is envisioned that other conventionalprocesses may be used to provide resistance, inductance, capacitance,surface acoustical wave filter, and/or a combination thereof topredetermined contacts. It is further envisioned that conventional orother processes may be used to provide other active elements including,transistors, diodes, etc., and/or a combination thereof to predeterminedcontacts. Finally, it is envisioned that conventional or other processesmay be used to provide a number of active and/or passive elements toprovide a circuit which may provide predefined functions, including amicroprocessor function to predetermined contacts. That is, in analternative embodiment, predetermined ones of the above referencedmulti-layers each may comprise an isolated circuit.

In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, a ceramic substrate202 having a first contacting surface 158G and a second contactingsurface 158H may be provided. A metal film may be deposited directly onthe ceramic substrate. Subsequently, the metal film may be patterned viaan etch or other subtractive process to form a first conducting surface204 and a second conducting surface 206. The metal film may cover thefirst contacting surface 158G and the second contacting surface 158H toprovide a conductive surface thereto. In the illustrative embodiment,there may be a gap between the first conductive surface 204 and thesecond conductive surface 206 such that there is no electricalconnection therebetween. A discrete and/or monolithically fabricatedactive components may be affixed such that a first electrical terminal210 of the discrete and/or monolithically fabricated active component isin electrical communication with the first conductive surface 204 and asecond electrical terminal 212 of the discrete and/or monolithicallyfabricated active component 208 is in electrical communication with thesecond conductive surface 206. It is contemplated that the discreteand/or monolithically fabricated active component may be a resistor,capacitor, inductor, diode, or any combination thereof. Further, it iscontemplated that the shape of the ceramic substrate and the pattern ofthe metal film may be such that a transistor or other multi-terminaldevice may be employed. Finally, it is contemplated that a number ofresistor, capacitor, inductor, diode, transistors, etc. may be employedto create a circuit thereon.

In the illustrative embodiment, the employment of low conductivitymetals or even conductive inks and ceramics, including SiC, may be usedto achieve the desired resistance values, with or without additiveplating such as gold to minimize contact resistance. However, it iscontemplate that an additive plating may be used. The ohmic contactingsurfaces 158G and 158H of active contact 200 may be inelectro-mechanical contact with a semiconductor lead and a load boardterminal, respectively. The first conductive surface 204 may carry anelectrical signal from the semiconductor lead to the first electricalterminal 210 of the discrete or integrated component 208. The signal mayemerge at the second electrical terminal 212 of the discrete orintegrated component 208 and may be carried by the second conductivesurface 206 to the ohmic contacting surface 158H, and finally to a loadboard's signal I/O pad (not shown). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10,a recess may be fabricated in the ceramic subtract to accommodate thephysical placement of the discrete and/or monolithically fabricatedactive component 208.

Referring to FIG. 11, another illustrative embodiment which uses theceramic substrate, may comprise a 3-terminal capacitor type activecontact. In this embodiment, the contact may comprise a multi-layermonolithic decoupling capacitor. Alternating signal planes 258 andground planes 266 may be fabricated from patterned metal and separatedby inter-layer ceramic dielectric (not shown). This may be accomplishedby repeating a multi-layer thin film process N-times to yield amulti-layer active contact structure as shown in FIG. 11.

The network of signal planes 258 may be coupled to a first terminal 254by a via 256, and to a second terminal 260 by a via 268. The firstterminal 254 may be brought into engagement with a lead of asemiconductor device. The second terminal 260 may be in contact with asignal I/O pad 128 on a load board (not shown). The ground network 266may be electrically coupled to a ground reference ohmic contact 262 by avia 264. The ground reference ohmic contact 262 may be coupled to aground reference pad 132 on a load board (not shown). This embodimentmay provide a significant amount of control over a corresponding signalbecause of the relatively large plate area generated by the alternatingconfiguration of the signal and ground planes.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that theteachings found herein may be applied to yet other embodiments withinthe scope of the claims hereto attached.

1-39. (canceled)
 40. Apparatus for electrically interconnecting leads ofa packaged semiconductor device to corresponding pads spaced at adistance from the leads, comprising: (a) a housing, said housing havingcontact receiving slots formed therein, said housing having a surfaceintersected by said contact receiving slots, each of said contactreceiving slots extending substantially parallel to an axis extendingbetween a spaced corresponding lead and pad, said packaged semiconductorbeing able to be positioned relative to said housing proximate saidcontact receiving slots; (b) each lead from said semiconductor engagingone of a plurality of contacts received within said contact receivingslots, and each contact further engaging a corresponding pad, whereineach pad completes a signal path, each of said contacts providing meansfor electrically affecting a signal transiting said signal path betweenat least one lead and corresponding pad; and (c) each of said contactscomprising a monolithically fabricated active device element. 41-43.(canceled)
 44. Apparatus according to claim 40 wherein said plurality ofcontacts is coupled to a plurality of pads. 45-48. (canceled) 49.Apparatus according to claim 40 wherein each of said contact receivingslots registers with a corresponding lead of the monolithicallyfabricated active components. 50-51. (canceled)